3D printers austin

FAQ's

How much does your 3D printing service cost?

The cost of your 3D printed parts depends on factors such as part volume, part complexity, choice of material, which 3D printing technology is used, and if any post processing is required. For more details on these cost factors, see our article on the cost of 3d printing. To check the cost of your 3D printed part, simply upload a CAD (.STL) file and select your material and 3D printing technology to receive a quote within seconds.

How do you guarantee the quality of my prints?

Your parts are made by experienced 3D printing shops within our network. All facilities are regularly audited to ensure they consistently meet the Hubs quality standard. We include a standardized inspection report with every order and offer a First Article Inspection service on orders of 100+ units.

We have partners in our network with the following certifications, available on request: ISO9001, ISO13485 and AS9100.
Follow this link to read more about our quality assurance measures.

How do I select the right 3D printing process for my prints?

You can select the right 3D printing process by examining which materials suit your need and what your use case is.

By material: if you already know which material you would like to use, selecting a 3D printing process is relatively easy, as many materials are technology specific.
By use case: once you know whether you need a functional or visual part, choosing a process is easy.

For more help, read our guide to selecting the right 3D printing process. Find out more about Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) and Stereolithography (SLA).

How can I reduce the cost of my 3D prints?

In order to reduce the cost of your 3D prints you need to understand the impact certain factors have on cost. The main cost influencing factors are the material type, individual part volume, printing technology and post-processing requirements.

Once these have been decided, an easy way to further cut costs is to reduce the amount of material used. This can be done by decreasing the size of your model, hollowing it out, and eliminating the need for support structures.

To learn more, read our full guide on how to reduce the cost of 3D printing.

Where can I learn more about 3D printing?

Our knowledge base is full of in-depth design guidelines, explanations on process and surface finishes, and information on how to create and use CAD files. Our 3D printing content has been written by an expert team of engineers and technicians over the years.

See our complete engineering guide to 3D printing for a full breakdown of the different 3D printing technologies and materials. If you want even more 3D printing, then check out our acclaimed 3D printing handbook here.

We have an extensive range of online resources developed to help engineers improve their capabilities.

Introductory guides

Design guides

Material guides

Applications

CAD & file preparation

Post processing & finishing

Our other manufacturing capabilities

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CNC machining

Milling (3-, 4- & full 5-axis), turning and post-processing

• 50+ metals and plastics & 10 surface finishes


• Tolerances down to ±.0008” (0.020 mm)

• Lead times from 5 business days

See our CNC machining services

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3D Printing Service for Austin, Texas

CapabilitiesCustom Online 3D Printing ServiceTexasAustin

High Quality Austin, Texas 3D Printing | 60+ Materials Available

Endless Options

Choose from millions of possible combinations of materials, finishes, tolerances, markings, and certifications for your order.

Easy to Use

Get your parts delivered right to your door without the hassle of sourcing, project management, logistics, or shipping.

Quality Assurance

Our number one job at Xometry is making your custom parts to your specifications.

Your Austin, Texas 3D Printing Service: 3D Prototypes and Production Parts

A Global Leader in Industrial-Grade 3D Printing

Xometry is an industry-leading 3D printing service. Whether you need prototypes or production parts, we can make them for you in as fast as a day. We are your one-stop-shop for accurate, precise custom 3D printed parts at a low cost. Upload your 3D CAD file to get a quote and lead time within seconds. We use the latest additive manufacturing processes to build affordable functional prototypes & end-use parts in over 60 metals and plastics.

We offer eight high-quality 3D printing processes including selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, direct metal laser sintering, polyjet, Carbon DLS, binder jet metal, and HP Multi Jet Fusion. We use commercial and industrial-grade printers such as Stratasys Fortus 900mc and Fortus 450 FDM, EOS Polymer Laser Sintering (SLS) and DMLS, Concept Laser, SLM Solutions, 3D Systems, ExOne, and more.

Xometry's High Quality 3D Printing Services

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a powerful 3D printing technology that produces highly accurate and durable parts that are capable of being used directly in end-use, low-volume production, or for rapid prototyping.

An additive manufacturing layer technology, SLS involves the use of a high power laser (for example, a carbon dioxide laser) to fuse small particles of plastic powders into a mass that has a desired three-dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from a 3-D digital description of the part (for example from a CAD file or scan data) on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the part is completed.

Download the SLS Design Guide.

Stereolithography (SLA)

Stereolithography (SLA) is a robust 3D printing technology that produces extremely accurate and high-resolution parts that are capable of being used directly in end-use, low-volume production, or for rapid prototyping.

SLA is an additive manufacturing process that focuses an ultraviolet (UV) light on a vat of photopolymer resin. It offers higher resolution printing than many other 3D printing technologies, allowing customers to print parts with fine details and surface finishes. SLA 3D printing is a highly-versatile platform for making custom parts in prototype and production settings; often acting as a stand-in for injection-molded plastic parts.

Xometry offers both standard and high-resolution options for fine detail parts, and can also print larger sized parts and products, with some materials offering up to a 58" inch build area. In addition, Xometry's manufacturing partner network allows us to offer a larger variety of materials than other 3D printing companies - we offer a wide range of both Accura and Somos brand materials.

Download the SLA Design Guide.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a 3D printing technology widely known for its speed, accuracy, and competitive cost. A machine precisely extrudes melted plastic filament to create a part. Parts are very rigid, especially compared to Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), which makes them a great fit for projects with a rigidity requirement. Xometry's FDM solution offers large build volumes up to 24″ x 36″ x 36″, a variety of colors, and a diverse selection of production-grade thermoplastics — from ABS to Polycarbonate to Ultem.

Download the FDM Design Guide.

HP Multi Jet Fusion (HP MJF)

HP Multi Jet Fusion is a new 3D printing technology that produces highly accurate and durable parts that are capable of being used directly in end-use, low-volume production, or for rapid prototyping. Since the process uses well-established 2D printing ink-jetting, it has remarkably fast layer times compared to other powder bed fusion technologies.

Download the HP Multi Jet Fusion Design Guide.

PolyJet 3D (PJ3D)

PolyJet 3D is a 3D printing technology known for its customizable material properties and excellent surface finish. It works by jetting UV curable resin onto a build tray in a process that is somewhat similar to inkjet printing. PolyJet 3D printing offers one of the most advanced industrial 3D printing solutions available, producing parts with incredible precision and speed. It also supports a wide variety of build materials including rigid and rubber-like plastics. Xometry's PolyJet solution has a maximum build envelope of 19.3 × 15.4 × 7.9 in. (490 × 390 × 200 mm) in a variety of colors and materials.

Download the PolyJet 3D Design Guide.

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is an 3D metal printing technology that builds prototype and production metal parts from a CAD file using a laser to selectively fuse a fine metal powder in either stainless steel or aluminum materials. A DMLS machine is capable of producing highly complex features and all-in-one assemblies using metal materials that would be difficult to achieve with subtractive manufacturing techniques.

Our DMLS metal 3D printing service typically offers build volumes up to 250 x 250 x 325 mm, but we may be able to accommodate larger part volumes upon request in the quote. (See our Manufacturing Standards for more details) A good first step is to find out the cost of the parts you need using DMLS and compare them to other 3D printing processes and CNC machining.

Download the DMLS Design Guide.

Carbon DLS™

Carbon DLS™ uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins to produce products with end-use durability, resolution and surface finish. This 3D printing technology is called Digital Light Synthesis™, or DLS for short. Another legacy term for the process is Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Along with Carbon’s custom liquid resins, DLS unlocks new business opportunities and product designs previously impossible, including mass customization and on-demand inventory of end-use products.

Carbon bridges, and sometimes substitutes, for processes like Urethane Casting and Injection Molding service production, because the materials are urethane-based or epoxy-based, giving excellent mechanical properties. There are even elastomer and silicone resins that outperform most additive manufactured rubber-like materials.

The typical build area is 7.4” x 4.6” x 12.8”. Parts with dimensions exceeding 4” x 4” x 6” will require manual review.

Download the Carbon DLS Design Guide.

Metal Binder Jetting

With binder jetting, an inkjet print head quickly deposits a bonding agent onto a thin layer of powdered particles -- either metal, sand, ceramics or composites. This process is repeated, layer-by-layer, using a map from a digital design file, until the object is complete. Binder jetting is offered through our Digital RFQ Marketplace through Xometry's partnership with ExOne.

Download the Binder Jetting Design Guide.

Locations near Austin, Texas

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Icon Giant 3D Printer to Print Homeless Housing in Texas

Blogs

09/20/2019 at 08:32 Updated: 09/20/2019 at 08:14 Kirill Irtlach Kirill Irtlach

3D printing is an increasingly popular construction technology. One of its main advantages is its cheapness, thanks to which affordable housing can be provided to people from poor regions and representatives of vulnerable social groups.

Helping

In Austin, Texas, the non-profit organization Mobile Loaves & Fishes plans to expand the existing Community First! for the homeless. According to the plan, more than 500 houses with an area of ​​approximately 46 m² each should be located on an area of ​​20 hectares. 110 houses will be printed by Icon using its Vulcan II 3D printer, six of which will be completed by the end of the year.

Currently in Community First! 200 people live. All of them are required to pay a small rent of $225 to $430 per month. If a person does not have a job, Mobile Loaves & Fishes employs him directly in the settlement.

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At the same time, Icon plans to print the first three houses at the same time to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology and reduce costs, including in terms of time. To clarify, the characteristics of the Vulcan II potentially allow it to print four of these houses at a time.

Before starting the main part of the work, Icon managed to print the visitor center of the settlement. The building with an area of ​​46 m² was erected in 27 hours. According to Icon engineers, unlike cheap houses built of drywall and chipboard, buildings printed from concrete have good thermal insulation properties, have a quite presentable appearance and are not afraid of bad weather.

The financial side of participation in the Icon project was not disclosed, however, it is known that one printed building costs 20-30% less than a hand-built building, and all the costs of printing houses for Community First! will be taken over by the Texas real estate agency Cielo Property Group.

Vulcan II at work.

Source: hightech.plus

• Rent covers 40% of Community First! The rest of the funds are donated by various companies and charitable organizations, they also provide the microdistrict with doctors, psychologists, social workers, and also finance the local cinema, canteen, water supply and laundry.
• If a person refuses to pay rent, they are asked to leave. According to the organizers of the settlement, 86% of residents live in the microdistrict on a permanent basis and do not experience problems with paying for housing. The remaining 14% are, as a rule, drug addicts and alcoholics who have not been able to wean themselves from addiction.
• Community First! increase to 480 people, which is approximately 40% of all homeless people in Austin.
• In terms of employment within the community, in addition to the standard cleaning of kitchens and toilets, residents of the neighborhood can also create jewelry for sale and sculpt pottery at the local art studio, process wood products, engage in farming, blacksmithing, and change tires and oil in local service station.

3D printing of weapons, 3d printer for printing weapons

Turch December 13th, 2014

3D printing and 3D prototyping are synonyms for the production of physical objects according to a three-dimensional layout made in any graphic editor. This allows you to create structures of any complexity and work out internal details that are impossible to perform on modern equipment.

Types of 3D prototyping technologies:

• Extrusion is a method in which the material is first melted and then extruded in the desired proportions, determined by a given program.
• Granulation is a method in which material particles are glued together or sintered under the influence of high temperature.
• Laminating - applying thin layers of material on top of each other and then cutting out (as on a lathe).
• Photopolymerization - the process of polymer curing when exposed to a laser beam.

Regardless of the application of any of the existing technologies, the basic principle remains the same. Application of material ball by ball in three planes (X, Y, Z axis). 3D printing can be used in any field, as it allows you to create an object from scratch. It is enough to load its virtual layout.

3D printing materials weapons

Since 3D printing technology has a very wide scope, the materials are also quite diverse:

• Polylactide
• Petroleum products (plastic, nylon).
• Metal powder.
• Mixture of plastic and wood (wood fibre).
• Polycaprolaton.
• Polypropylene.
• Acrylic.
• Gypsum and others.

Polylactide

Plastic

nylon

Metal powder (product)

004

Polycaprolaton

Polypropylene

In fact, even food products can be used in 3D printing. For example, chocolate. From it you can create edible figurines or a mini-sculpture of a person.

Equipment for 3D printing of weapons

A machine that converts a virtual model, by the method of ball-and-stick application of material, into a real object is called a 3D printer. It can be used at home (desktop) and commercially (industrial). The cost varies from 1,000 to 1,000,000 US dollars. Also, for each technology, a separate model of the device is provided.

Weapons on a 3D printer

The idea to print military weapons on a 3D printer first appeared in the United States of America.

In May of this year, a video appeared on the Internet in which a man shoots from a printed model of a Liberator pistol. It was 25-year-old Cody Wilson, head of Defense Distributed, which promotes the idea of ​​universal availability of 3D weapons.

Using a 3D printer, they printed firearms and uploaded the files of their work to the worldwide web. Defense Distributed employees have already made magazines that hold more cartridges for the AR-15s rifle and the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK-47 modification). Also on their account is the manufacture of the lower part of the receiver, in which the bolt of a self-loading rifle AR - 15 is placed. You can attach the barrel and magazine to it, having received a finished weapon without any problems. No authorization is required to purchase parts in the USA. Now work is underway on a 3D printout of the entire rifle. In doing so, Cody and his team dealt a major blow to the American gun control debate. The discussion began in December, after twenty children and six adults were killed by assassins at a junior high school in Connecticut. The vast majority of Americans rallied to support government reform. This is a thorough check that will make it difficult for criminals to obtain weapons. However, this did not prevent Mr. Wilson from obtaining a federal license to manufacture and sell firearms.

More serious developments in the field of printing firearms on a 3D printer are being carried out in Austin, Texas. The project is led by Eric Macler, coordinator at Solid Concepts, a 3D printing company.

Erik Machler

Ten industrial 3D printers are installed at the Austin plant. Solid Concepts received a federal license to manufacture weapons, and now, using direct metal laser sintering technology, produces the Browning 19 pistol.eleven". Making a pistol takes up to 35 hours. Depending on which printer and materials are used. More than 1,000 shots have already been fired from the first printed pistol, Solid Concepts, while the company has created a second version of the Browning 1911 model.

Solid Concepts is not going to mass-produce the gun because they can't sell it in a way that makes a profit. While many 3D printers cost around $1,000, Solid Concepts says hobbyists can't make the stainless steel gun they make. Since their machines cost between $600,000 and $1 million, industrial conditions are needed here. The devices consume more electricity than can be obtained in residential areas. In addition, the printers use inert gases that are not commercially available.

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